The Golden Angel's Decent
by tmiandmr
Summary: Jace has just gotten stabbed by the Angel sword and has had a bit of twist in the mind. In this version there is no heavenly fire engulfing him and…well, read to find out more. Oh, and I've thrown a few book teaser's in (no intention of copy right at all!)
1. The Story Begins-Summery

**Summery-**

**Jace has been stabbed by the Angel's Sword and is now laying unconscious at his room back in the institute. Clary is with him (of course) and Isabelle when he wakes up. But there's something that's different about him. When he looks at Clary, he doesn't react the same, and the wall he used to have seems to have been rebuilt again. **

**Throughout the story, Isabelle, Alec, and Clary (Jace's closest, and really only, friends) try to help him get out of his...situation, while going through some extra twists along the way. They're run into friends, and some unwanted enemies, as well as some people that they might have thought once dead or nonexistent.**

**Perhaps some secrets will be uncovered in this mystery. Perhaps not. The only way to find out is to read it.**

**Sticking as close to Cassie's writing style that I can without meeting her (which we all know would be awesome), I have made this story to put a spin on somethings that would tear us to pieces if they really happened. AKA-Relationship issues.**

**Don't forget to ****_REVIEW_********and********_SUBSCRIBE_**

**__**Thanks for reading and, trust me, it gets better from here.

Follow me on Instagram at waterrose257 or twitter at SamMuellner


	2. Chapter 1

Clary sat by Jace's bed, anxiously rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. It had been three days since she'd stabbed him with the sword and while the silent brothers' hand said that he was going to be alright she wasn't completely sure.

There was a light knock on the door, to which Clary didn't respond. She hardly noticed it really, considering she was too busy examining Jace's face. Isabelle had put an iratze on him as soon as they'd gotten back—so had Alec for good measure—and now his face was completely gone of bruises and scrapes. His arm, which used to contain a large gash from when he collapsed in pain, was completely fine too. His chest, on the other hand, had a large scar in it where the blade of the sword had pierced his skin, white and ugly. But on Jace it looked like nothing more than another ruin. Beautiful, and a part of him.

Isabelle entered the room, her face sober. Behind it Clary could see the grief she was trying so desperately hard to hide.

"He's going to be alright Clary, you don't need to hold his hand that hard."

Clary looked down at her hand. She was clutching Jace's so hard that both their knuckles were turning white. She loosened her grip.

"You guys alright?" Alec stood in the doorway, just behind his sister. Unlike Isabelle he had shown his grief for Jace, which was surprising considering he was Alec. He had been acting strange lately. Clary knew it had to do with Magnus.

"Well other than Clary breaking every bone in Jace's hand, fine." Isabelle walked over to the bed and sat next to Clary, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He's fine Clary. Come on, loosen up. Do you want him to wake up in pain?"

Clary blinked and against looked back down at her hand. She'd gone back to her lock tight grip. She loosened it.

"Sorry," she muttered half-consciously.

Alec mumbled something about getting lunch and left the room, leaving Isabelle and Clary to stare hopefully at Jace. He didn't move.

"Well," Isabelle said a little too cheerfully. "Sitting around all day isn't going to make him wake up any sooner. The Silent Brothers' said he's stable anyways. You wanna come get lunch with us? We're going to Takie's."

Clary did talk. She was staring back at Jace's hand, which lay limply in her own. She could have sworn…

Jace's eyes flew open and Clary nearly screamed in delight, just managing to hold herself back from throwing herself into his arms. He was awake! Oh thank the Angel he was awake!

Clary and Isabelle stared at Jace as he sat up and blinked, staring around the room.

"Jace?" Clary asked her voice cautious. She had been warned that his senses might have been sensitive, considering he was stabbed by a sword with immense power.

He looked at her and as the golden irises of his eyes fell on her green ones she couldn't hold back any longer. With a squeal of delight she threw herself into him, linking her arms around his neck, holding herself to him.

"Jace. Jace, Jace, Jace, Jace, Jace." She couldn't stop saying his name, pulling herself tighter into him. It was some time before she realized he wasn't holding her back.

She pulled back. He looked at her with a sort of dazed look, his amber irises still blinking furiously, riddled with confusion.

"Jace?" Clary asked, brush a piece of hair carefully out of his face. Her fingers burned where they touched his skin and she ached to pull him against her, to have his lips fall on hers and kiss her like he never wanted to let her go. But now was not the time for that.

"Jace?" Isabelle asked, stepping forward from where she stood.

Jace glanced to her, his head cocking to the side. "Who's Jace?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Isabelle, who went still in her movement. Clary smiled and let her hand run down the side of Jace's face, her fingers trailing over the smooth skin of his cheek. "Common Jace, stop kidding."

He blinked at her, his eyes meeting hers with a blank stare. She had to refuse to suck in a breath herself.

"I'm sorry," he asked. "Who are you?"

Clary's mouth dropped open, her smile vanishing. "Jace." He didn't say anything, just stared. "Stop it Jace, it's not funny."

"Who's Jace?" Jace repeated, sounding the slightest bit annoyed. He glanced around again, his eyes wandering lazily from the ceiling to the blank wall. "And where am I?"

Isabelle let out a small, high-pitched shriek. Before Clary could ask what was wrong Isabelle had pushed her back into her chair and was pinning Jace to the bed, her hands holding his wrists down above his head. Her gaze was murderous. "Tell me where you are! What's your name? What is the last thing you remember?"

"Well," said Jace, his eyes examining Isabelle with interest. "Aren't you pleasant? I must say though, those jeans look awfully tight."

A loud slap rang across the room as Isabelle's hand came across Jace's cheek, almost instantly pinning his wrist back down. Clary sprang up and grabbed her wrists but she only pushed her away, quite easily in fact.

"What the hell was that for?" Jace scoffed. His cheek was already starting to turn red with the flow of blood.

"Who am I?" Isabelle persisted, pressing him further into the matrass.

"Izzy, calm down already." He glanced sideways at Clary, a lopsided grin on his face. "Sorry you had to see this. She doesn't usually get like this."

Clary blinked at Jace, her mouth hanging open. Isabelle shook Jace violently. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"What?" Jace's brow furrowed in though. "Alec, you and me chasing down a shape-shifter demon."

"And then?"

He thought farther back and then shrugged, as well as he could with Izzy pinning him to the bed. "I'm not sure. My heads still pretty fuzzy from all the drinks. Tell me, did we kill the thing or do we have to go back out tonight?"

"What month is it?"

"August."

Isabelle let out a breath, but not one even close to relief. Both Clary and Jace stared at her in confusion as she yelled, "Alec, get your ass up the stairs and in this bedroom right now!"


	3. Chapter 2

"Alec, stop passing. You're giving me a headache." Isabelle rubbed her fingers gently against her temples where, her brow furrowed.

"Well at least I'm doing something." Alec glanced at Jace where he sat on the bed and groaned, falling into a chair beside her. "I can't believe he's forgotten everything."

"Everything in the past three months that is."

"So we're boyfriend and girlfriend?" Jace asked, eyeing Clary suspiciously as if she were joking. It made her heart shutter. She nodded. "Well, at least you're pretty."

"Jace." Clary reached to touch his face. Just as her fingers brushed his skin he flinched away, his eyes turning threatening.

"Don't touch me."

Clary hesitated and then pulled her hand back. She shouldn't be complaining; she was sitting on his bed at least. But she couldn't touch him. All she wanted was to run her hands through the golden curls of his hair. And if their lips met a few times she was okay with that two.

The hole in her heart grew bigger as she finally spoke the words she'd been dreading to say for the past hour. "You really don't remember me, do you?"

He shook his head and laid back with a sigh, his fingers entwining behind his head. "Nope. Sorry."

Clary tried again and leaned forward over him, her hands supporting her just above his shoulders. Her hair hung to one side of her face, sway as she straddled his hips. The mere touch of their skin sent her pulse racing, even through their cloths.

"Jace,"

"Don't." His voice was steady, but even so Clary could feel the slight hitch to it. On his neck, just below his jaw line, she could see his racing pulse that match hers in perfect unison.

She let her eyes drift back to his. "Close your eyes."

"I don't see how—"

"Just close them," she whispered, letting her hair tickle his left cheek. Softly, like a feather against the wing of a dove.

Sighing deeply, Jace closed his eyes, saying, "If you're going to try and get me out of my clothes don't bother. I'll have you on the floor in seconds—"

"Picture yourself when you were little, with a falcon that you loved so much—"

Jace's eyes shot open in surprise. "How do you know I have a falcon? Have you been spying on me?"

"You told me," Clary said, unfazed by his confusion. She took a deep breath. "Closer your eyes, Jace." He looked at her cautiously, finally closing his eyes. "Now, picture yourself with the falcon, the one you loved. It loved you back because you made it that way. Your father told you to train it and you did and in the process it learned to love you."

There was silence. Even Alec and Isabelle were silent where they sat, watching Clary with curious eyes. "Do you have that picture in mind?"

"Yes."

"Good, now picture your father." She paused, letting the image form in his mind. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Describe him to me."

Jace seemed to be entranced by the image, because he didn't give her a cocky or sarcastic remark before replying. "Blonde hair that was almost white, eyes pitch black like a starless sky, a face that almost never smiled."

"No Jace," Clary leaned closer, unable to help herself. "That's not your father."

Jace's eyes shot open. He sat up so quickly Clary didn't realize what was happening until he was pinning her against the bed, his hands gripping his arms with bruising pressure.

"Jace, stop, you're hurting me."

"Don't ever lie about my father," Jace said through gritted teeth, his hands tightening around Clary's arms. Clary let out a squeal of pain as she tried to wiggle out from under him.

"Jace!" Alec and Isabelle shouted and soon they were on him, pinning him to the floor. It took both their strength to do it. Jace was thrashing around violently, clawing and scratching at Isabelle and Alec. But Jace never acted like this…

"Let me go. She insulted my father. She's a fucking, lying, cheating, son-of-a—"

"She's not lying." Isabelle's shout drowned out the rest of Jace's words which Clary was overly thankful for. She didn't think her heart would have been able to take them.

"Shut up Izzy."

"Jace," Alec said, his voice strained as he pinned down his parabati's arms. "She's not lying. You found out a few weeks ago that Valentine wasn't your father."

"Valentine isn't my father—"

"You found pictures of your real father, the one that you're genetically related too." Isabelle huffed as she tightened her grip on his ankles. "You're other father was a fake. He took you out of your mom's stomach after she died and raised you to think he was your father. That was really Clary's father."

Jace had stopped struggling by now. Behind his blank face and cocky smile she could see the information hit him hard. Something in him knew Isabelle was telling the truth.

He glanced up at Clary, smirking. "Well if that was your father you must have had one hell of a messed up life."

"Only after you showed up," she mumbled and jumped off the bed in the opposite direction of the lightwoods and Jace. "I'll be back. I just need to use the restroom." She cast a lingering glance at Jace as she left, her eyes questioning, wide, green orbs.

Jace huffed and jerked up, easily throwing Isabelle and Alec off him. "Thanks guys, I think I just pulled something. Now I'll have to go to a chiropractor."

"Jace!" Isabelle shouted. "Will you just shut up for once and let us talk!"

Jace stared at Isabelle, his lips parted for words he didn't dare speak. Izzy never yelled like that, especially not to him. Holding back a shiver, he let himself fall back onto the bed. Linking his fingers behind his head, he closed his eyes and nodded.

Isabelle let out a long breath and slumped back in her chair and began to explain everything. The club, Clary, Valentine, Hodges, Magnus-who Alec seemed to go quite with-, Clary. There was a lot of explaining about Clary, who seemed to be taking her time in the bathroom.

"So you're telling me that I was fed Angel blood while in my mom's stomach and now am a super Vanquisher that's nearly undefeatable?"

Alec sighed. "Only you would get that out of the information we just told you."

Jace sat up, smirking. "So technically you just called me a type of God."

Clary walked into the room, tying her hair in a messy ponytail to the side. "You," Jace pointed a finger at her, his voice replicating that of a Roman emperor. "Bow down before the might God that is me."

Alec groaned and let his head fall back. Clary blinked in surprise, her hands frozen in mid-twist of the ponytail tie.

Isabelle let out a noise that sounded like a chocked laugh and crossed her arms over her chest. "We told him about the Angel blood. And by the way," she turned to Jace. "The same thing happened to Clary."

Suddenly, Jace looked very bored and fell back onto the bed with a moan. "Too…much…information. Don't…think I…can…absorb…it all."

Clary just shook her head and sat down on the edge of the bed. She stayed clear of contact with Jace at any cost. For some reason she felt like keeping all her limbs on her body.

"Oh, I know." Isabelle shot up in her seat, her hands clasped together and a large smile on her face. "Clary, Jace, why don't you guys head to Takies and get some lunch."

"What?" Clary asked. She could see where Isabelle was going with this, but wasn't sure it was such a good idea.

"Great idea." Jace shot to his feet and was already halfway to the door. "Come, little girl. Let's go eat."

Isabelle stifled a laugh. Clary gritted her teeth. "Don't call me little girl."

Jace seemed to stop suddenly in the archway, causing Clary to crash into him. Despite all the recent training she fell, hitting the floor with a definite "oof" that let her ass hurting like hell.

"Huh." Jace leaned against the doorframe, staring distantly at Alec and Isabelle. "Déja Vu." He looked down, smirking at Clary where she lay on the ground. He stuck out a hand and for a second she stared at it blankly. Didn't he just try to kill her?

"Well?" Jace asked, wiggling his fingers. "Are you going to leave me here like this or are you going to take the taunting hand?"

Clary took his hand and he hauled her easily to her feet. It was the same way he always pulled her to him: perfect and close. Their bodies fit together with an unquestioned perfection and Clary's hand ached where it was still grasped in his.

Jace didn't seem to notice though. Instead he lifted his hand up and yanked the ponytail out of Clary's hair. A flash of red curls went everywhere as the hair tie fell to the floor.

"Hair down," Jace said, in a commanding voice that was set off by a smile.

Clary thought back to the first day he'd said that to her, when they'd gone to Magnus' party and she'd dressed up for the occasion. Her skin still tingled from where he'd brushed her cheek, as if he was touching her now. Wait…

"Huh?" Clary snapped back to attention and Jace jerked his hand back from her face.

He cleared his throat rather awkwardly and turned, mumbling "Nothing" and walked down the hall with silent footsteps to follow.


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry, this one's really long but I couldn't stop righting. In this chapter Magnus get's introduced back into the story (=D) and Jace starts to remember a few...twists in his past.**

* * *

Alec stood outside the apartment door, his hand raised to knock. He couldn't bring himself to do it. His entire body was shaking so hard that his teeth were chattering and he was sure that if Magnus opened the door he would feint from nerves.

He wasn't exactly sure how he did it, or why, but Alec brought his fist down on the door with two steady knocks. He felt something drop in his stomach, the way a cinder block drops off a cliff. He stood there, for maybe five minutes, before he decided that it was no use. He knew Magnus was home, he could sense something about the warlock that was there. But he also knew that Magnus was ignoring him tenfold. He deserved it anyways. Making Magnus mortal was the worse idea he'd had in a history of bad ideas.

He was halfway down the hall when the sound of a bolt sliding out of its lock reached his ears. He stopped dead in mid-step, certain his limbs were frozen. Down the hall he heard an unapproving growl but no slamming door.

It was probably ten minutes before Alec finally turned around. Thirty feet away from him, in the apartment number 2B's doorway, stood a man in a purple bathrobe. His hair was still spiked and Alec could see traces of glitter between the porcupine-like spikes. A pair of slit-pupil eyes like a cat's stared at him through narrowed lashes.

"Alexander." Magnus' jaw was set. He looked like a cougar ready to pounce. Alec cursed himself for the terrible metaphor.

He stuttered for words, managing to get out an impassible sentence before closing his mouth shut with a snap.

"Why is it that you are here? You do know that when someone says not to see them again it means coming to their apartment too."

Alec swallowed again, almost chocking on his spit. He could already feel the constant thump thump of his heart turning into a rapid, streaming pulse. Like the effects of adrenaline.

Throwing his hands into the air, Magnus turned and stomped into his apartment in a swirl of lavender fabric.

"It's about Jace!"

Alec called just as the door was about to shut. It paused, a centimeter from closing. Opening just enough for one of Magnus' cat-like eyes to see out, Magnus peered at Alec with a glaring hat mixed with terrible desire. He had to get over him. Yes he loved him, but he had to get over him.

"Why should I care about Jace—?"

"He's forgotten everything."

Magnus held the door open farther. "Well, that's not so much of a loss. You can now retrain him to be a well-served gentleman—"

"About Clary," Alec finished with a growl. Magnus' blood may have made his run hot but there was no getting around the warlocks rudeness at this point. "He's forgotten everything for the past three months and can't remember anything about her."

At this, Magnus looked momentarily interested. "Really? Since when?"

Alec let out a sigh of relief. For a second her really thought Magnus would slam the door in his face. He was sure his heart would have shattered if he had. "Since he woke up. He said the last thing he could remember was tracking that demon and then nothing. He thought it was September."

Magnus nodded thoughtfully, on finger raped around his chin thoughtfully. Finally he shrugged, leaving Alec to gape with his mouth hanging to his feet. "Probably just a side-effect of the sword. No major damage."

"No major—? You idiot! You think that him forgetting about his dad, Clary, you, Jocelyn, Hodges, and the rest of the fucking things that happened in the last three months is not a problem. He looked at Clary like she was just another girl he wanted to use!"

Magnus blinked in surprise at Alec. Even Alec seemed a little shocked by what he'd said. He almost never swore, but when he did it was always about Jace.

"Since when have you started caring so much for Clary?" Magnus asked, his voice all question.

"Since I had to watch her heart break not two hours ago." Alec's hand were in fists at his side. "So if you wouldn't mind, I would like to ask you if you could come down and help Jace out. If not for me, for Clary, because right now she's being eaten up inside to the point of being a hollow shell."

Magnus just stared, his eyebrows raised in amazement. Was this Alec talking? His—once his—Alec? It didn't seem like it. This Alec seemed older, bolder, and a lot more tired.

Setting his mouth into a hard line, Magnus snapped his fingers. No matter what he did he couldn't ignore the pull that told him to help Alec. Damn you love.

"Alright," he said and closed the door behind him with a bang. It only took him ten strides to walk to and past Alec and be at the stairs. "Where are they?"

He was dressed in dark jeans now, ripped at the knee with chains hanging from the sides. His shirt was also black, although written across it in rainbow sequence was _Dare to Test_ along with many designs.

Alec had to run to keep up with him. "We sent them to Takies."

"Good thinking," Magnus mumbled and lo-and-behold, there was a portal in front of him. Alec squeaked at the sight of it in the open but Magnus just shoved him through. Darkness, condensing and ear-splitting and bone-shattering all at the same time, engulfed Alec. He only just had time to stick his feet out to catch himself from falling flat on his face.

Still, he wobbled as he looked around. Magnus had portaled them right in front of Takies diner.

Next to him Magnus appeared, the portal sealing up as soon as he did.

"You shouldn't do that," Alec complained as Magnus started to brush invisible dust off his shirt sleeve.

"Do you want me to help your little friends or not?"

Alec didn't push it. "So do you know what's wrong with him?"

"I have my suspicions." Magnus covered his hand as he gazed up at the diner, even though there wasn't much to gaze up at. It was still the same rusty old building it always was.

"Oh." Neutral toned, Alec started to walk towards the diner.

"Alexander," Magnus said. Before he could make it two steps Magnus swept Alec back in his arms. Then his lips were on his, kissing him hard and desperately. Alec felt everything in him fall away as Magnus' lips expertly opened his, tasting the sweet tang of magic on his lips.

He pulled away quickly, licking his bottom lip. "It's nice to see you again." And with that he walked into the diner, leaving Alec staring open mouthed at the spot he had just been standing, his head spinning.

Clary sat at one of the booth's in Takies, tracing her finger mindlessly across the cold surface of the table. She had given up trying to convince Jace about everything that had happened the past three months. Even love had to take a break from fighting sometimes.

Mindlessly she took a french-fry from her plate and nibbled the end of it. Dissatisfied, she threw it back into the basket and pushed it away.

"You know there are people starving in Africa," Jace said. His plate was empty and he'd somehow managed to kick his feet up so they were resting on the table.

"And how is me not eating going to affect them?" Clary asked.

Jace shrugged. "I don't know. People just usually say that when someone doesn't eat all their food."

"Hm."

A shadow came over them and Clary looked up, nearly jumping. The yellow-green eyes of Magnus Bane stared down at her through well decorated eyelids, flashing with a mixture of wonder and questioning.

"Clary," he said in a formal tone that suggested he was probably here for his own benefits. "Nice to see you again. And you too Jace."

"We've never met." Who was this guy? Jace wondered, giving the man a once-over. He looked like a warlock with his cat eyes.

"If only that were true," Magnus sighed.

Clary couldn't help but smile. "Why are you here Magnus? I thought…" she stopped as she caught sight of Alec. Feeling the heat begin to rise to her cheeks she glanced away, looking at Jace who was now eyeing her fries the same way he had looked at her a week before. It was not something Clary was proud of.

"I heard Jace got into some trouble." He glanced down at the boy in question, his eyes flickering. Claya swore she saw a flicker of worry somewhere in there. "Something about him…forgetting the past few months."

A knot tightened in Clary's chest but she managed a nod, slumping back into the corner of the booth. Jace looked at her worriedly, turning his gaze away from the French fries for a second. "Is she alright? Because she's been acting like that for the past thirty minutes."

"Did you ever consider that maybe she's in a state of shock?" Magnus raised an eyebrow at the boy as Clary let her forehead fall onto her curled-up knees. She was so very tired. She hadn't slept in three days.

Jace just rolled his eyes, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the warlock man—Clary had called him Magnus—was right. He could sense something about Clary, whether they were close enough to touch or across the room. Something about her made his heart skip and words catch in his throat. It was something that never had happened before.

"Do we know what happened?" Clary asked from somewhere between the fabric of her jeans.

Magnus hummed. "Well, if my guess is correct, then Jace is just suffering a side-effect from the Heavenly Sword. Since you was the one to stab him with it, he forgot _all_ memory leading up to the time you first met."

"That makes no sense," Alec said from Magnus' side. There was a hint of color in his cheeks that hadn't been there this morning.

Magnus smirked but avoided any sort of glance in Alec's direction. "When does magic ever make sense? The truth is that almost everything in this world, the Shadowhunter world, is impossible for any human to understand because they have to know how it works. With this, it worked because the sword was so powerful that, as it cast out the demon, it cast out some of Jace's memories too. Or, at least blocked them."

Clary's head shot up. Block? "How long will it take for them to come back?"

"If they do? I'd say about six weeks, give or take. It depends on how much he wants to remember."

"Is there any way to speed it up?" Alec looked as though he were begging. "A spell or a rune or something?"

Clary considered putting a rune on Jace to make him remember, but then thought against it. What would she be recalling him to remember anyways? It was better to let his mind do its work.

"Something's might cause the process to speed up. Little things that were special during the time of lost memory." Magnus leaned down, his face closing the distance between him and Jace until only a few inches remained. "That is…if his memories will return at all."

"What about the Silent Brothers?" Alec started. "They could—"

"The Clave must not know about this." There was no questioning in Magnus' voice and he stood up straight. "This must be kept a secret from them or they will react in the same way they did with Clary when her talent was discovered."

"Not following the rules," Jace said with a smug grin. "My specialty."

"What do you think could help stimulate his memories?" Clary asked with dreaded urgency. If there was anything, _anything_, she could do she knew she would do it.

"Um, a shock to the senses, a valuable trinket that came in handy. Oh," there was a loud slap throughout the diner as Magnus' hand came across Jace's face. Two tables looked at them in annoyance before turning back to their food.

Jace held his cheek in one hand, spitting out a colorful array of curses. "By the Angel's. You better watch yourself, Bane, or one day," Jace stopped, his face taking on a distant look.

"Ah," Magnus said with a smile on his face that looked distinctly like the one on the Cheshire cat. Both Alec and Clary stared at him wide-eyed. Why had he just done that? Was there really anything to gain? "I never did tell you my last name now, did I?"

Jace just glared up at the warlock and slipped quickly from the booth.

"Jace!" Clary called and slipped out, running after him.

Alec looked at Magnus, still shocked. "Was it really necessary to slap him?"

"Very." Magnus turned to Alec, and actually looked at him. Alec could see the racing pulse beneath his jaw where it beat abnormally quick and knew, without a doubt, what Magnus wanted. Him. "Now Alexander, I must say good bye. I shall retire to my apartment and I ask that you do not follow me. Don't show up or I shall drop you into a portal that will take you to China."

Clary had ended up catching Jace at the edge of the park. She had grabbed him by the wrist and force him to sit under the maple tree, which is where they were now.

Clary leaned back against the tree, running her fingers through the grass beneath her feet. She wished it was Jace's hair instead. But he was sprawled out in the sun like a cat napping, his hands linked behind his head and smiling contempt.

_"That rune on your arm," he had said before, when she had first pushed him under the tree. Her shirt had ridden up and he'd seen it. It wasn't like a rune he'd seen before. It was different, one not in the Codex. "It doesn't look familiar."_

_Casually and curiously, Clary glanced down at her arm. "It's because I created it," she said, as if it were obvious._

_Jace frowned, leaning back on the grass. "You can't create runes."_

_She sighed, pulling up a handful of grass. "I can. I discovered it when I came to rescue you from the silent brothers. Don't you remember?"_

_"Why on Earth would I be in the Silent City? Do you think I'd be someplace where I can't get complements? Looks like this shouldn't go to waste."_

_She sighed, contemplating whether or not to slap him. It had worked before. And she really wanted to now._

Ignoring the urge, again, to have her hand come across his face, Clary let her mind wander. She did this often when he was lying in bed and it was quite easy to do it now.

Jace stared at Clary, transfixed. Something about her was different, besides the extra Angels blood that supposedly flowed through her and his veins. Never before had a girl made him feel like this, like he wanted to touch her, comfort her, take her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be alright. That last one sounded familiar, as if the words had already rolled off his lips or through his mind before.

She was staring back at him, but there was something distant in her eyes that told him she couldn't see him. Her eyes were lovely: like green emeralds in a sea of white foam. They always, even when he was cocky and smart-witted, looked at him as though he were a precious gem.

He got up and crouched in front of Clary, resisting the urge to touch her. It was only when he started to wave his hand in front of her face that she blinked back to reality.

"Hey."

Clary blinked. "What? Oh, sorry, I was just—"

"Never mind." When he was younger, Jace had put up a wall around himself. Clary knew that. But ever since she'd met him the wall had started to crumble down. She wished that would still be the case. "Listen, I have to ask you something."

She sat up a little straighter, sucking in a breath. "Alright."

"All those things that you and Izzy and Alec said earlier: about my father, the angel blood, the sword. All of it was true, wasn't it?"

The breath came out with a whoosh and Clary smiled. Only a small smile, but it sent Jace's senses crazy. "Yes. It's all true."

"So my father's dead?" Clary nodded. "And were together?" Another nod.

For a second he just stared, blankly. She could make out past the wall that he was processing everything. There was pain, sadness, anger. Confusion?

Clary slapped him, hard, on the side of his face. Jace, not suspecting it, fell over in shock, cupping his right cheek. "Clary!" he shouted, loud enough that the kids playing several ways down looked at him. "What the hell was that for?!"

"What do you remember?" Clary asked, her voice casual. And urgent.

Rubbing his face, Jace looked as though he could be one of those Angels in paintings that turn bad and come to kill everyone. But still an Angel. With this light his fair hair looked like a halo of gold around his head, making his eyes shine a brighter gold.

They turned distant and she knew he remembered something.

Jace saw it: a long dining table, a man with pale hair lighter than his and black eyes. He was in a suite, rather nice looking one. Then…

"We're siblings."


	5. Chapter 4

**Welcome Simon. I know that Simon cant actually enter the Institute because he's a vampire and whatnot but I couldn't think of any better place then to set the scene.. Hope you like it ;) Please Review.**

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"What!?" Clary stared at Jace in horror, mouth dropped open. No, no, no, no, no. Why did he have to remember that?

"You and me. We're brother and sister." He cocked his head to the side. "Although I don't really see it."

"No, Jace. We're _not siblings_."

"That's what I remember." He smirked and fell back on the grass. He let his hands rest on his chest, the smirk remaining. "I guess even my own sister can't resist my charm."

Clary just stared. Her limbs were frozen solid even though her blood was running hot. This was the last thing she wanted him to remember, besides the fact that he died. "Jace, were not siblings. I'm telling you, Valentine told you that to trick you into thinking so. He lied to you about being his son. We are in no way related." _Angel blood doesn't count_.

Jace knew she was telling the truth. He'd seen more than just the man telling him about his sister. He'd seen her, Clary, and him, riding on a flying motorcycle across the sky. She had had her hands around him and her head pressed against his back and he remembered thinking, _"There is no way that we're siblings. We can't be."_

And he'd seen the Seelie Queen, and what she'd made them do. And how he'd reacted.

A shiver ran down Jace's spine that he just barely managed to suppress. What was happening?

He came back to reality, and found Clary still rambling on about something. God she was oblivious sometimes. How had he ever fallen in love with her? But he knew how.

"Then he left you to decide whether to come back to Idris with him or stay with me and—"

"Clary." She stopped, realizing she was a babbling, and looked down at Jace. There was something knew in his eyes that told her she'd gotten through to him.

She let her breath out in a whoosh. "You believe me? Right?"

He just nodded.

"Thank God. That would have been—"

"Awkward."

Clary nodded. She hesitated for second, and then crawled over to Jace's side. He glanced over nervously at her as she sat over him. "Jace,"

"Don't." His voice was warning but he didn't sit up. One part of him wanted Clary to kiss him. She was so close. He could feel the heat coming off her small body. See every red hair that ran in curls down her back, and over her shoulders. And her eyes. By the Angel her eyes. They looked at him with so many different things he could even name them all. But at the top of that list was desire. Pure, heart-aching desire, and he knew he felt that too.

"What?" she asked and he started. Was she actually going to kiss him, or was she going to say something? But her voice had had that tone in it. And he'd seen it on her face.

"Don't kiss me."

She sat up and that was when her realized actually how close she had moved. "Why?" Her voice was pained and it almost broke Jace's heart. "Why can't I kiss you? We've kissed before, many times, and you know it."

"Yes but I can't remember it." He sat up, quickly, and almost knocked Clary over. And then he was on his feet walking away.

Clary watched him go for a second, his perfectly golden body stomping down the hill in rage. It was such a common occurrence but he was never angry at her.

Simon leaned back against the wall of Isabelle's room. It was a hurricane mess as always, but this time she had taken the liberty to clear a spot for him.

Izzy was laying on her bed, intently staring at Simon. "Well…?"

He opened one eye at her, mockingly curious. "Well, what?"

She made a noise of disapproval. "I just tell you that Jace lost all his memory of the last three months and all you say is 'Well what'?"

"Oh calm down Izzy. You said it yourself, Magnus said that it should eventually wear off right? So he'll be back to himself in no time."

"_Should._ That doesn't mean it _will_."

Simon shrugged. Isabelle groaned and fell back on her bed. Boys. They were always so…so…weird. "Did you ever," Isabelle asked with a winning smile on her face as she sat up. She knew she had him here. "Consider how Clary is taking all this?"

Simon opened his mouth and then closed it. His already sheet white face went paler, if that was even possible. Isabelle watching his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, with visual difficulty.

"Ha!" Isabelle grin grew even bigger. "Now you're concerned."

"Isabelle," Simon scolded. Isabelle fell back on her bed, her smile staying. "How is Clary dealing with all this?"

Isabelle had just opened her mouth when the door to her room swung open and the girl herself walked in, followed by a rather disturbed looking Jace.

"Clary!" Simon exclaimed and was at her side in a flash. Literally. Vampire speed kicked in and he was across the room in less than a millisecond.

"Simon." Clary sounded beat but there was still joyous surprise in her voice. "Since when did you get here?"

"Since you guys left," Isabelle called over from where she was sprawled out on her bed. "I invited him over and told him all about Jace."

Clary looked back to Simon, who was glaring at Jace. Maybe glaring wasn't the word. He was more of examining Jace with a hateful intake in everything he saw. Yep, that was more it.

"So," Simon said. He looked as though he were about to stick Jace with a needle and take his blood for inspection. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Hm?" Jace looked Simon up and down. "Are you my loyal vampire servant who does all my bidding and keeps girls from attacking me with their lips?"

Jace was surprised to see the boy's face go pale and watched, in horror, as his eyes darted to Clary. He followed his gaze. She was biting her bottom lip to stop from saying anything and he could see a small drop of blood starting where her teeth pierced her skin. He wasn't even sure she knew she was doing it.

"No." Simon sighed and the next thing Clary knew he had slapped Jace.

"Simon!" Clary grabbed Simon by the wrist and pulled him away from the fuming Jace. By now he had a large red mark on his cheek that was visible even beneath the honey skin.

"What? Isabelle said Alec told her Magnus hit him and he remembered him."

Jace was shooting daggers at Simon. "That doesn't mean _you_ have to hit _me_, Vampire."

"Well," Simon said, pouting his lip. "I guess that didn't work. By the way, it's mundane."

"What?" Jace looked lost.

"Simon was a mundane," Clary explained, still glaring at her best friend. "He was bitten and turned into a vampire and then you gave him blood and he somehow became a Daylighter."

"Really?" Jace said, and he actually looked surprised. "I let a vampire drink my blood? Willingly?"

"Yes," Simon said. "After I gave you a sponge bath." He pointed an accusing finger at Jace. "Are you still washing behind your ears?"

"Simon!" Clary and Isabelle shouted. Simon pouted his lip and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked like a kid who had just been told no by his parents.

Jace looked unfazed. He walked over, carefully avoiding all of Isabelle's clothes, and went to the window. He grabbed the edge of the drapes in his fist. The vampire didn't even flinch as he pulled them open and light flooded through the floorless room.

"Ow," Simon said in a bored voice. He raised his hand and started to examine his nail, his other on his hip. "Really, that hurts. Close it."

Jace shrugged and threw himself on Izzy's bed.

Simon glanced worriedly at Clary, who was glancing the same way at Jace who was busying himself by throwing clothes at Isabelle; who was screaming at him to get out.

"Isabelle," Simon said, holding up a finger.

Isabelle turned on him, her eyes flashing. "What?!"

"Can I speak to you for a second? And Clary too?"

Isabelle and Clary both nodded and they followed Simon into the hall. As the door closed Isabelle started again. "Alright, what's up? Tell me there's a good reason I just left Angel boy alone in my room."

"Okay, I see your point now. So how are we going to fix it?"

Isabelle crossed her arms and the evil smirk returned. "Oh, so now you actually believe me. Good to know."

Clary cut her off before she could continue. "We need to shock him."

"Isabelle could walk in naked," Simon suggested, glancing almost beggingly at Isabelle. He glanced away quickly. She looked as though she were a snake, rolled in lava and sprinkled with venom.

"Or Simon could walk in naked. I'm sure that would shock him more."

"I'd rather die."

"What about kiss Clary?"

"What!" Simon and Clary both looked at Isabelle with open mouths. She held their stares evenly.

"Well you said shock him, and Alec said something before about things from the past that might bring stuff back. Jace saw you and Simon together enough, so that might shock something out of him."

"As well as get me killed," Simon muttered.

"He won't kill you," Isabelle said. "Probably. Anyways, he can't, unless he decides to cut off your head or stab you in the stake with a heart."

"Well who wouldn't that kill?" Simon must admit he didn't hate the plan. Not that he wanted to kiss Clary, well…but if it got Jace to remember something that would make her happy he would do it. As long as she was okay with it.

"Clary?" Isabelle asked, casting a pleading look at Clary whose gaze had gone distant. "You think it's a good idea don't you? It's not like it would mean anything."

"Well…" Clary said, glancing nervously from Izzy to Simon. "To be honest it's a little weird."

Isabelle set her jaw. "You two are impossible."

"Isabelle, you do realize that Simon is your boyfriend right?"

"So? I told you, _it won't mean anything_. It's just a kiss. You two can peck on the lips or make out or whatever. But all of us know that this is only to help Jace and neither of you will become lovey-dubby again because you both have incredibly hot boy/girlfriends."

"Wait to throw yourself a compliment," Simon muttered.

Isabelle spun on him. "You know I can dump you at any time."

Simon held up his hands in defense, throwing a pleading look at Clary. She nibbled on her lip and could taste the tang of blood on lip. When had she bit it so hard?

"Well," Isabelle said, turning around. "It's either you two kiss or Simon kisses Jace."

"Why doesn't Clary just kiss Jace?" Simon asked, looking truly disgusted at the thought of him and Jace kissing. It almost made Clary laugh.

"He won't let me," Clary said, looking away. Isabelle had turned her head to look at Clary. Her gaze was one of pity, and Clary couldn't stand to look at her. "Every time I try he tells me not to or walks away."

"How many times have you tried?"

Isabelle and Clary glared equally venomous glares at Simon. He just couldn't get a break today could he?

"Fine!" He threw up his hands in defeat and pulled them into his chest, linking them. "I'll do it, but only if you're okay with it."

Clary hesitated. On one hand, the kiss could shock something back into Jace. On the other, it might not, and if it did, Simon could end up seriously injured.

"Alright," she said slowly, watching Simon's reaction. Ever since he'd become a vampire he had been able to hide his expressions better from her than he'd had before. And now he looked almost as calm as ever.

They walked in normally back into the room, but Clary wouldn't have been surprised if she was shaking. She certainly was on the inside. She could feel her bones rattling together and her heart slamming around in her chest. Not because of the kiss, but because of how Jace was going to react to the kiss.

She stopped at the foot of the bed, Simon next to her, and Isabelle by the door. Just in case anyone decided to run, apparently.

Jace heard footsteps beside the bed and looked up. He smiled when he saw Simon and Clary and lifted himself up on his elbows. "Well, I see my loyal servant has returned. Would you mind fetching me some water? I'm a bit parched and wouldn't want my lips to be getting chapped."

"Right away, _sir_," Simon said and there was something in his voice Clary couldn't describe. "But first," She was turned around and lips fell on hers before she could so much as take a breath.


	6. Chapter 5

**Just a heads up, this will be my last one till the weekend at least so make it count.**

**Please Review**

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_Jace heard footsteps beside the bed and looked up. He smiled when he saw Simon and Clary and lifted himself up on his elbows. "Well, I see my loyal servant has returned. Would you mind fetching me some water? I'm a bit parched and wouldn't want my lips to be getting chapped."_

_"Right away, _sir_," Simon said and there was something in his voice Clary couldn't describe. "But first," She was turned around and lips fell on hers before she could so much as take a breath. _

Simon was cold, as always, but his lips were surprisingly warm. As Clary wrapped her arms around his neck she tried not to imagine where those lips had been. And exactly what had passed through them.

There was nothing, compared to kissing Jace. No spark; no prickling down her spine. The kiss was just bland. Still, it was a kiss, and she was going to make it count.

Jace watched in expressed horror and rage—he didn't even try to cover it—as Clary's body folded into Simon's. She lifted herself onto her toes so they could be closer. By the time Simon's hands started moving down Clary's back and towards her ass Jace had snapped.

Simon was fast, he was a vampire; but even he couldn't move as fast as Jace had in that second. He was pinned back to the wall in a matter of milliseconds with an ache in his shoulders that no mundane would be able to endure. His feet hung three inches off the ground.

"Mundane," Jace growled from deep in his throat. It surprised Simon that he felt a shiver of fear go down his spine. "I swear if you touch her again I'll rip out your throat."

"And how would Clary deal with that?" Simon managed to choke out, sliding a smile onto his face. He could see that it drove Jace crazy. The pain in his shoulders increased.

"Jace." Clary rushed over and started to tug on Jace's arms. He didn't budge. "Jace, let him down."

"Hell no." His voice stayed a growl and there was no obvious loosening in his grip.

Clary stepped forward and managed to squeeze in between the space between Jace and Simon. She could barely breathe. In Jace's eyes she could see rage that hadn't been there before.

"Jace," she placed her hands on his chest and began to push him forward. He stayed still. "Stop. Now." She glanced desperately over at Isabelle. Her desperate look turned into a glare when she saw Isabelle leaning back against the door, her arms crossed, a smile over her face. "Will you do something?"

"Why?" Isabelle couldn't help it. It was too much fun to watch all this happen. "Simon's doing fine; and he could hurt Jace if he really wanted to."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Simon asked, tightening his grip on Jace's arms. He knew he was about to break Jace's wrist and he still wasn't budging. "Seriously dude, it was just a kiss. If you didn't want me to kiss her then you should have done it yourself."

Simon was thrown across the room before he'd gotten the last word out. Clary flinched as she heard a bone-shattering crash.

Simon groaned, sitting up against the wall. He had landed in a pile of Isabelle's clothes and a shirt was splayed across his head. "Ugh," he groaned, picking the shirt off with his thumb and forefinger. "That hurt."

"Damn mundane," Jace mumbled, leaning sideways against the wall. He was still shaking with rage but at least he had it under control now. But there was no way to erase what he'd just done. He couldn't even look at Clary.

"Hate to break it to you, Angel boy, but I'm already damned. Remember? Vampire. Or did you not see the teeth?" Simon flashed his fangs at Jace who changed into battle position.

Clary stepped in front of him, throwing dagger's at Simon. "Stop it Simon. You're not helping."

Simon looked slightly hurt. "Sorry, but I was trying to." He glanced at Jace, so casually Clary could have believed he'd just sat down in Isabelle's clothes and nothing had happened. "Remember anything?"

"I remember a lot about you and Clary." Jace remembered all of it, actually. The coffee shop, when he'd first seen Clary and Simon together and the jealousy he'd felt. Every second of Simon and Clary together, when they thought they were brother and sister. Guess they really weren't related—he felt relieved. Every single gaze Simon casted at Clary that was even remotely related to desire.

"Well it sort of worked," Isabelle said. She isn't one for sympathy, is she, Clary thought. Behind her Jace went still.

"What worked?"

"Simon and Clary kissed to see if they could shock you into remembering anything," Isabelle said before Clary could stop her.

Jace felt something in his throat tighten. It was Simon's idea. He knew it had to have been. He was going to kill that mundane if it was the last thing he did.

"Well," Jace said, keeping his voice as level as possible. "It worked, but I wouldn't suggest trying it again unless you want to be pulverized into immortal dust."

Simon rolled his eyes. Clary blushed, deeply, but she felt comforted by the fact that Jace had 'come to her rescue'. Maybe this could work. He was at least becoming…uh…protective?

"You're thinking about me," Jace leaned into Clary, coming close enough to kiss her but stopping just before their noses touched. Still, she could see the racing pulse in his neck that matched hers perfectly. "Aren't you?"

"Actually, yes. I was thinking that it might be possible for you to remember everything, if not most things."

He shrugged. "That still counts."

"What about the box?" Clary turned to Isabelle, who looked up from examining Simon buried in her clothes.

"Hm? Oh, ya, that thing. Where is it?"

"In his room," Clary said. "I'll go get it."

"You just want an excuse to be in my room," Jace said, smirking at her.

Clary rolled her eyes. "You know me to well, Jace Herondale."

"Herondale?" Jace raised an eyebrow at Isabelle, as if to ask _"Is she stable?"_ through visual communication.

"Your _real_ father's last name," Isabelle said with a wave of her hand. "Clary, go get the box."

Feeling like a housemaid, Clary left the room and headed for Jace's. It was only seconds until she heard Isabelle yelling down the hall.

Jace was by her instantly, walking quickly enough to make her have to run to keep up. "I'm not letting you in my room alone."

"Good, because you never have before."

Jace gave her a weary glance, pausing just before the door that led to his room. His face impassive, he opened it, leaving Clary to wonder what he'd been thinking. His room was clean like they'd left it. It was practically immaculate compare to Isabelle's cloth-splatter room.

Clary walked past Jace, oblivious to the fact that he was staring at her, and made her way over to his bedside table. Hesitantly, she stared down at the box. It was the box that contained all his father's stuff in it, one of Jace's possessions that he—had—actually shown care for.

She picked it up gingerly and turned around, nearly jumping when she found him standing not inches behind her. "Jesus."

He smiled. "No, and I don't believe in his second coming."

She glared at him and thrust the box into his hand. He'd said that to her before. It brought back so many memories.

Jace took the box tentatively, as if it were made of sugar glass. There was nothing special about the box really, but still, he felt a pull to it, a remembrance. He could remember a few things, bits and pieces of memories or dreams or something. Him opening it, looking for countless hours at a time at the things inside. He remembered the picture even before he'd opened the lid to look at it. There was also a knife.

As his fingers grazed over it he felt a shock as something came to him. Him and Clary were in bed, him on top of her. They were both shirtless, locked in each other's embrace. He remembered his blood feeling like fire, his mind spinning out of control as he tried to control himself but couldn't. Then he remembered the knife, the flash of a silver blade before it pierced Clary's arm.

She hadn't screamed, but he could remember the pain that shot through her eyes and the feeling that shot through him. As though a million ropes were tied to his body and were pulling him in separate directions.

"By the Angel," he whispered and before he knew it he snapped the box shut. And there were those eyes again, watching him, but instead of pain there was only worry. Helpless, unselfish worry. "I—" he stumbled, trying to find words.

Finally he thrust the box back at her, not carrying if it broke or not. Truthfully, he did care if it broke, but not at that second.

Clary scrambled to catch the box and pulled it tight against her chest. She couldn't let it break. It was the one thing that he needed. The one thing that held pictures of the past he couldn't remember. Never actually had.

"Just a bunch of old photos," Jace said, glancing away from the gaze-holding box. Instead he glanced at Clary, still clutching the box to her chest. Her grip was so tight he thought she might break it.

His finger's twitched to reach out and pull hers away from the wood and link his own through them.

"Nothing much."

Clary stared at Jace, stunned. She'd caught him many times gazing at the photos, trying to find something in them that he could call his. He had looked at the picture of his dad the most, as though staring at it could really bring him back.

She pried the box away from her chest and opened it carefully. She saw the knife immediately and tried not to think of where it had cut her. Pushing it aside, she grabbed the photo of his dad and held it up. She couldn't see much resemblance between Jace and his dad—he looked more like his mom—but compared to Valentine they were more alike than they were different.

"This," Clary said, turning the picture so that Jace could see it. "Is your real dad."

He just shrugged and looked away, eyes darting everywhere except the slightly worn parchment.

Clary watched him for a second before turning her gaze back to the photo. "You looked at it so many times, trying to see something in him that was in you." She sighed and place it back in the box, closing it. "I think it was your way of telling yourself you weren't like Valentine."

Jace noticed, not for the first time he thought, that Clary never called Valentine "my father" even though he really was her father. Just like how he couldn't call the man in that photo his. He was blood related, but he never knew him as his father.

"Doesn't sound like me," Jace said but his voice said otherwise.

Clary placed the box on the table, gazing down at it for a little longer before turning to face him. "Tell me," she said and her eyes, her face, even her lips seemed to be pleading. Oh how he wanted to kiss those lips. "What did you remember? What did you see?"

"What makes you think I remembered anything?"

"I could see it," she said, smiling the way someone does when they're truly happy. "In your eyes. I could see the spark of recognition, and," she added, almost unwillingly, "I could see the shock, and betrayal, and," she paused and the suspense nearly killed him. How had she gotten so good at reading him? For years there was a wall he had put up around himself to keep people out, and then this girl comes along and suddenly it's just glass. Crystal clear, see-through glass. "The disappointment."

She looked back up from her hands at Jace. He was much better to look at anyways. Her hands were small and delicate but callused from hours of holding a pencil. They twitched, the way they always did when she wanted her pencil in her hand and a notebook in front of her.

Jace stayed silent along time, his eyes darting from one of hers to the other to her lips. For a second she thought he might kiss her. He might pull her to him like he had so many times, his arms wrapping around her, tangling themselves in her fiery red hair.

She thought wrong.

Instead he just smiled and said, "I saw myself, holding that box," turned, and walked out the door, leaving Clary to gnaw on her lip in the silence of his room.


	7. Chapter 6

**The last Chapter ended when Jace walked out on Clary after they looked at his father's box. If you don't remember I suggest reading it again. **

**Please Review ;) and enjoy**

**(this story contains an extra section from the POV of Magnus)**

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Clary walked back into Isabelle's room, expecting to find Jace already there. Instead she found Isabelle and Simon sitting on the bed. Well, Isabelle was sitting on the bed. Simon was basically falling off it with laughter.

He stopped when he realized Clary was in the room, biting his trembling lip to keep the chuckles at bay. "So? What happened?"

"Did he remember anything else?" Isabelle asked.

"He said he remembered himself holding the box," Clary said. "That was all."

"Well did anything happen?" Isabelle pressed. She continued at Clary and Simon's blank stares, "Did he do anything out of the ordinary?"

"He's Jace."

"I mean out of the ordinary even for Jace." She rolled her eyes. Sometimes Clary could be narrow minded.

"Not really." Clary thought. He'd done many things that weren't what Jace would have done, before the sword incident, but she wasn't completely sure if he would have done them before he met her or not. Everyone had said he'd changed once he'd met her, but how? And in what way?

She sighed. "I don't know. I don't really know what Jace would do any more."

"Well if I had to guess he'd say something sarcastic to cover up what he was really feeling." Both Isabelle and Clary threw daggers at Simon. "What? It's true."

"Ya I know the box."

Alec and Jace sat back at Takies, with the impending blue waitress bouncing next to them. She was a little too peppy for Jace today. Alright, a lot, and she wouldn't leave him alone no matter how many times he said to.

"Well you're knife is in it." Jace fiddle with the napkin on the table.

"So?" Alec drummed his fingers on the table. To be honest, he was only half paying attention to what Jace was telling him. There might have been another time when he would have given Jace his complete and utter attention, but at the moment he was barely giving him ten percent.

"It touched it," Jace mumbled. He was talking to himself now. "I saw myself hurt her. We were in bed together and I…I stabbed her in the arm."

At this, Alec perked up. "You were what?"

Jace waved it off. "We didn't get far. The knife came down before a second layer could come off. But Alec," Jace threw napkin down on the table with unnecessary force. "Don't you see? I've hurt her before, countless times, and I don't even know why I did it."

"You were becoming possessed," Alec said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter now. We all knew that you would hurt Clary if you had a choice—"

"But I did have a choice. Not," Jace said, holding up a finger to the waitress who had opened her mouth. "Ready yet. Give us ten more minutes."

She frowned, but the frown disappeared quickly into a hasty grin and she bounce away. Jace knew she would be back in let than five minutes. He'd be lucky if he even got one.

"I didn't have to hurt her."

"It wasn't your fault," Alec persisted, but he could already see that Jace wasn't going to believe him. He had to change his tactics.

Letting out a deep sigh, he let himself fall back into his seat. "But you are hurting her now, you realize that, right? She can't stand to be away from you and when you look at her as though she's just another girl you want to use—"

"But I don't," Jace growled.

Alec just continued, as though he hadn't interrupted. "It just breaks her heart even more. Soon there won't be any heart left to break and she'll just be a hollow shell. By the time you remember everything she won't even care about anyone anymore and you'll be slamming your head into a wall. And I," he added as an afterthought, "will not stand by and let that happen to my parabati or the girl he loves. Or at least did love."

Something deadly flashed in Jace's eyes and Alec had to refuse the urge not to flinch.

Jace knew he was right. It was one of those rare times that he knew Alec was right and it hit him hard. But he couldn't help but feel angry at his parabati. He did love Clary, he knew that, and he knew he does now. He just doesn't remember anything.

"And you taunting her by almost kissing her isn't helping either." Jace stared in shock for a second. "Isabelle."

"One day I'm going to kill her," Jace muttered just as the waitress came back. She showed up peppy and smiling blue faced again and he just about snapped. "Will you go away? Can't you see that we're just here to talk and don't want to be bothered by you."

"Jace," Alec warned but again Jace waved it off with a wave of his hand.

"Just go."

The waitress looked stunned for a moment. Blank and pale in the face, she turned and walked to the next table, asking for their order.

Alec glared at Jace. "What was that for?"

"She was getting annoying," was all he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the side wall.

"So you had to go and embarrass her in front of the whole restaurant?"

Jace didn't say anything. Alec sighed and let his head fall onto his hand. "You're hopeless."

"Runes." Jace sat up quickly in his seat. He was feeling a mixture of shock and disbelief. How had he not thought of that before? "Maybe there's a rune for amnesia, or whatever it is I have, that we never learned about."

"Well why don't you ask your girlfriend? She makes new runes, I'm sure she could try one for you."

"She's not," Jace started but stopped himself before he could say another word. Technically, Clary was his girlfriend. And he wanted her to be, he couldn't ignore that. So why did he always want to say she wasn't?

"Well at least you're getting better," Alec said. "That time you cut yourself off before you finished. I think this might work."

Jace made a noise deep in his throat that sounded like a mixture between a growl and a scowl. Throwing one last glare at his parabati, he jumped from the booth and walked hurriedly towards the door.

"Jace," Alec called after him. When Jace didn't turn to look back, Alec scooted out of the booth and ran after him. He wasn't sure he trusted him enough at this point if he'd really go back to the Institute or go to a club.

Clary was in the kitchen with Isabelle when Alec and Jace walked in. Immediately she perked up, but when she saw Jace's expression she whipped her face clean of any and went back to watching Isabelle cook. She knew she should probably stop her but Izzy was persistent.

"By the Angel, what is that horrible smell?" Jace asked, wrinkling his noise. When he caught sight of Isabelle at the stove he understood. "Izzy, I may have forgotten three months of my memory, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to cook."

Isabelle shot Jace a glare and continued to stir the soup. It was an accommodation of sweet potatoes, pickle juice, and horse radish. She wasn't sure how it would turn out but that was all she could find in the fridge.

"Well what can you cook?"

"Eggs," Clary replied and then bit her lip. The image of Jace cooking eggs for her flashed in her mind, along with a million others of Jace and Sebastian together. No, not Jace, she reminded herself. She shook her head to clear the images away.

When she finally came back into focus she found all three Shadowhunters staring at her with raised eyebrows. She still didn't get how they all did that.

"Well," Isabelle said, going back to stirring. "We don't have eggs, or anything else for that matter."

"Has it ever occurred to you to, oh I don't know, order food?" Jace asked. He was absolutely positive that Isabelle's cooking could kill someone more efficiently than her fighting could.

"Shut up."

"Fine," Jace said, walking over and taking Clary by the arm, "but I need to talk to Clary."

Frowning, Clary looked up at Jace but he stealthily avoided her gaze. Suddenly he jerked her away from her seat, causing her to stumble slightly as he dragged her into the hallway. She needed to work on her training.

"What's that about?" Isabelle asked, pointing a spoon in Clary and Jace's direction.

Alec shrugged, keeping wary eyes on the spoon. "Jace wants to see if a rune can help him remember everything."

"How did you get him to want that?" Isabelle sounded astounded.

"Told him how much he was hurting Clary." Isabelle nodded and went back to stirring the soup. "You aren't going to make me eat that, are you?"

The spoon clattered in the pot as Isabelle thrust her hands into the air. "All I'm trying to do is help."

"Cooking isn't going to help," Alec said. "Unless someone here wants to end up in a hospital for a month."

Isabelle made an unpleasant noise like a growl in the back of her throat at her brother. Sometimes he could be a real pain in the ass. Turning on her heals, her dress flowing around her legs, she stalked out of the kitchen through the opposite door Clary and Jace went through.

"Izzy," Alec called. "Wait, what about the soup?"

"Do it yourself!"

As soon as they were outside the doors, Jace let go of Clary's arm. He turned to her, ignoring the racing pulse of his heart and the disappointment of not touching her. "I need you to do something."

"Alright," Clary said, not skipping a beat. She was willing to do really anything at this point to help him bring back his memories. It had only been not even a day and it was already killing her.

Jace took a deep breath and pulled out something long and thin from his belt. Clary recognized it immediately. "I need you to create a rune for me. One that can help me to remember."

Clary took the stele from his outstretched hand almost hesitantly. She held it carefully in her hand like a pencil, unsure of exactly what to do. Usually, when she thought of a new rune they came to her, quickly and easily, but right now her mind was blank. No image of swirling black lines appeared, not even already existing ones.

Jace grabbed the edge of his shirt in his hands and pulled it over his head. The sight of his honey skin, lined with the black flowing curves of runes and the scar over his heart, was almost too much for Clary to bare. Her hands shook, not from nerves but from the knowledge that she couldn't reach out and touch him without him flinching away.

"I-I can't," she said and was surprised she took a step back. She saw the spark in Jace's eyes diminish slightly and wished she could take that step back. "I'm sorry. I can't see anything."

"You can't _see_ anything?" he asked, his eye brows furrowing with both confusion and disappointment.

"I can't picture any rune in my head." Clary shook her head in frustration. He voice dropped to a dead whisper, so soft that even in the empty hallway Jace could barely hear her. "I'm sorry."

She stuck out her hand with the stele in it, her eyes closed, head fallen. Jace stared at her for a second, not even pretending that he didn't feel the racing pulse in his veins any more. He could see it in hers too, the same pulse that matched his in perfect unison.

Finally, he noticed the stele in her hands. He could barely stop his hand from shaking as he reached out and took it, letting his fingers brush against hers. There was a sharp intake of breath, and Jace was horrified to realize that it was him who did it.

Clary's eyes flew open as the stele left her hand and they shot up like arrows to link with Jace's. He'd felt it too, she knew he did. Whatever it was that passed between them when they touched he'd felt it.

He slid the stele back into his belt, not daring to break eye contact. He never knew how much he could wish to touch someone, and not in that way. He just wanted to touch Clary, to brush his fingers back across her skin. Even that would be just enough.

The confusion of it was just too much. Closing his eyes, Jace let images try to wander across them. But they all seemed to be stuck behind some invisible barrier. Nothing was getting through.

Clary didn't try to hid the disappointment as Jace's eyes closed. She knew nothing was going to happen. He was still probably confused by it all and, even though Jace would never let anyone else know this, she knew it was just too much for him. He may seem fine on the outside, but on the inside Clary knew that what he really needed was just time.

Taking a deep breath, a silently as she could, Clary turned and walked back towards the kitchen. She had only made it three steps when something caught her hand and pulled her back and lips fell on hers.

Magnus sat at his desk, signing yet another letter from the Clave. They were getting furiously annoying about all this 'Loosing Sebastian' stuff, and while Magnus had said he was no longer helping they still were persistent on having him track Sebastian. But he wouldn't do it.

He read over the second page of the letter for the fifth time when he finally felt overwhelmed. His head fell into his hands. Against his closed eyelids he could still see Alec's face, dull and pleading. He'd never seen Alec like that before. He'd seen him happy, sad, in pain, in shock, embarrassed, determined, everything. He'd seen him pleading before even, but there was something about this time that made it different. Maybe it was because he knew Magnus wouldn't have helped him no matter what he did.

But he had ended up helping him. It was too strong of a pull to ignore.

Magnus pulled his fingers down his face, letting out a long sigh. He couldn't believe he did it, any of it. Especially the kiss. But he could help that either. He wasn't sure why he did it but he did, and now the damage was done.

His stomach still flipped whenever he thought about it, which had been frequent in the last few hours. Perhaps he had just been caught up in the moment.

With a dull thump, Magnus' hands landed on the table in front of him. A shadow darted across the room at the sound and out the door. Magnus smiled, even though there was no reason too. He'd woken the Chairman from his nap. Again. For the fifth time that day.

Mindlessly, Magnus stood up. He looked down at the snufflebox on his desk, the initials _WS_ engraved onto it. He could still remember the conversation he'd had with Alec when they'd found it.

_"Good organization," said Magnus. "I knew the man who founded it, back in the 1800s. Woolsey Scot. Respectable old werewolf family." _

_Alec made an ugly sound in the back of his throat. "Did you sleep with him, too?" _

_Magnus's cat eyes widened. "Alexander!"_

Alec had been so mad, and he hadn't understood why. Now he did.

He wondered if this was the way Tessa felt with Jem and Will. She was immortal, like him, and had fallen in love with two mortals. It must have been hard, to love two people at time. It was hard enough for Magnus to love one. One that didn't want him to be immortal or didn't want himself to be mortal.

It must have been harder still to watch them die out while she lived on.

He still can't imagine life without Alec, even though that was one he was living at the moment. But he still knew Alec was alive, and right now, that was all he needed to know.

Glancing away from the snufflebox and the funny but disturbing memories, Magnus headed back into the main part of his apartment.

He had barely made it to the sofa when there was a slight knocking at the door. He frowned. Who could that be? He had only one suspicion.

He walked over to the door and nearly threw it open. He could already feel the blue sparks starting at his fingertips.

"I told you not to come back Alexander. I will not help you with Ja—" he stopped himself in mid-sentence, blinking at the figure in front of him. Her he had not expected.


End file.
